Portland Thunder | |||||
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Established 2013 Play in Moda Center in Portland, Oregon |
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League/conference affiliations | |||||
Arena Football League (2014–present)
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Team colors |
Royal Blue, Red, Silver, Gray, Thunder Blue, Black, White |
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Personnel | |||||
Owner(s) | Terry Emmert | ||||
President | Vacant | ||||
Head coach | Andy Olson | ||||
Team history | |||||
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Championships | |||||
League championships (0) |
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Conference championships (0) |
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Division championships (0) |
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Playoff appearances (2) | |||||
2014, 2015 | |||||
Home arena(s) | |||||
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The Portland Thunder are a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon. The Thunder are members of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Thunder joined the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Angeles Kiss. The Thunder are owned by Terry Emmert. Since their inception, the Thunder have played their home games at the Moda Center.
Contents
History
Expansion (2013)
On October 2, 2013, a press conference was held at the Moda Center where it was announced that sports investor Terry Emmert had purchased the membership rights to an AFL franchise.[1] Emmert purchased the Milwaukee Mustangs, who had been a defunct franchise since the 2012 season. This essentially gave Emmert the right to an expansion franchise, since none of the team's Milwaukee roots remain.[2] When asked what the biggest challenge to running a new franchise was, team president Jared Rose said, "Getting new fans to buy into something that the market really hasn’t seen before. Any new product launch is difficult, but we’ve got an exciting product that once people see it, they are hooked."[3]
On November 8, 2013 the franchise announced that the nicknames, "Thunder", "Enforcers", "Sasquatch", "Growlers" and "Stomp" were the finalist for the team.[4] Six days later, Emmert revealed the team's nickname would be the "Thunder."[5][6] The Thunder nickname has history in Portland dating back to the 1975 Portland Thunder, who played at Civic Stadium as members of the World Football League (WFL).[7] John Canzano, sports columnist for The Oregonian, wrote that a "team source" indicated that team owner Terry Emmert selected the team's nickname himself, despite claiming that fans would have the ultimate say. According to Canzano's source the "Growlers" nickname was the most popular among voters followed by the "Sasquatch".[8]
Inaugural season (2014)
The Portland Thunder began their training camp and held a media day on February 25, 2014. On March 1, the team held an intra-squad scrimmage for season ticket holders at Tualatin Indoor Soccer in Tualatin, Oregon. Their first game occurred on March 17 against the San Jose SaberCats at the Moda Center.[9]
On February 12, 2014 it was announced that the Thunder had signed former Portland State Vikings wide receiver Justin Monahan, who is a native of West Linn, Oregon.[10] The Thunder have former Oregon Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas on their inaugural roster. When asked about being assigned to Portland, Thomas said, "That was one of the main reasons I came back and accepted this opportunity to come here, just for the fans and I know people are behind me [...] I'm coming in to compete and be the starter and that's what I came out here for."[11]
The Thunder played their first game on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, as 8,509 people came to the Moda Center to see the team lose 64-34 to the San Jose SaberCats. The team started 0-5 before beating the Jacksonville Sharks 69-62 on the road in week 7. After starting 0-4 at home, the Thunder won their first game in Portland in week 11, beating the San Antonio Talons 55-40. Despite finishing 5-13, including an 0-6 divisional record and an even more ghastly 2-11 conference record, the National Conference was so weak, the Thunder slipped into the playoffs. In the conference semifinals, the Thunder actually led 48-45 with less than a minute left, before a miracle finish caused them to lose to the 2-time reigning champion Arizona Rattlers, 52-48. On September 23, 2014, the Thunder fired head Coach Matthew Sauk. [12] Days later, the team announced the hiring of former Iowa Barnstormers head coach Mike Hohensee.
Second season (2015)
The team finished with the same results in 2015, finishing 5-13. Originally the team finished behind Las Vegas in the playoff race. However, as the AFL folded Las Vegas after the season, they had amazingly slipped into the playoffs again. They lost to the San Jose SaberCats. On August 24, 2015, head coach Mike Hohensee and his coaching staff mutually agreed to part ways. [13]
On September 11, 2015, the Thunder agreed to terms to hire former Spokane Shock head coach Andy Olson as its third head coach in three years. [14]
Players of note
Current roster
Portland Thunder roster
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Quarterbacks
Fullbacks
Wide receivers
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers |
Injured reserve
Other League Exempt
League suspension
Inactive reserve
Team suspension
Refused to report
Recallable reassignment
Rookies in italics |
All-Arena players
The following Thunder players have been named to All-Arena Teams:
- OL John Collins (1)
- LB Bryce Peila (1)
- DB Varmah Sonie (1)
- KR Duane Brooks (1)
Individual awards
J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Year | |||
Season | Player | Position | |
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2015 | Duane Brooks | WR/KR |
Front office and coaching staff
Current staff
Portland Thunder staff | ||||||
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Front Office
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Head Coach Offensive Coaches
Defensive Coaches
Special Teams
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Head coach
On October 8, 2013, Matthew Sauk was named the Thunder's inaugural head coach.[15] Sauk had previously worked for the Utah Blaze, where he served as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator.[15] Following the team's inaugural season, in which Sauk led Portland to a 5–13 record, Sauk was dismissed as head coach and replaced by Mike Hohensee.[16] On August 24, 2015, Hohensee suffered the same exact fate as he and his staff mutually agreed to part ways after he coached the team to an identical 5-13 record and a second trip to the playoffs.[17] On September 11, 2015, Andy Olson was named the team's third head coach in franchise history.[18]
Coaching record
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2015 Arena Football League season.
Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
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W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
Matthew Sauk | 2014 | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 0 | 1 | |
Mike Hohensee | 2015 | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 0 | 1 | |
Andy Olson | 2016-present | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-season records
ArenaBowl Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Playoff Berth |
Season | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||
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Finish | Wins | Losses | ||||||
Portland Thunder | ||||||||
2014 | AFL | National | Pacific | 3rd | 5 | 13 | Lost Conference Semifinals (Arizona) 48–52 | |
2015 | AFL | National | Pacific | 3rd | 5 | 13 | Lost Conference Semifinals (San Jose) 28–55 | |
Total | 10 | 26 | (includes only regular season) | |||||
0 | 2 | (includes only the postseason) | ||||||
10 | 28 | (includes both regular season and postseason) |
Media
On March 11, 2014, the Thunder came to a local television deal with Comcast SportsNet Northwest. Scott Lynn will do play-by-play, Jordan Kent will be color analyst and Megan Berrey will serve as sideline reporter. (CSNNW is not carried on DirecTV or Dish Network.) [19][20] They also announced a radio deal with KXTG Sports Radio 750 AM with Jeremy Scott on the play-by-play and Brian Perkins as color analyst.[21]
See also
References
- ^ Don Walker (October 2, 2013). "Milwaukee Mustangs bound for Portland". www.jsonline.com. Journal Sentinel, Inc. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ^ Nick Daschel (October 2, 2013). "Arena Football League takes another shot at Portland". www.oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ^ "Football is coming to Portland - An interview with Portland Thunder Team President Jared Rose". OregonSportsNews.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Portland's Arena Football League team narrows nickname contest to five finalists". www.oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC. November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
- ^ "Portland Announces Thunder as Team Name". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ "Portland announces Thunder as AFL team name". www.oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Dwight Jaynes (November 12, 2013). "The Portland Thunder? Been there and done that... in 1975". www.csnnw.com. Comcast Sports Management Services, LLC. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Canzano blog: Portland's Arena Football League team fumbles name, John Canzano, The Oregonian website, February 12, 2014
- ^ Odem, Joel (31 January 2014). "Portland Thunder to begin training camp Feb. 25". OregonLive.com. Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Portland Thunder sign former Portland State WR Justin Monahan". OregonLive.com. Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Q&A with former Oregon Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas". OregonLive.com. Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Portland Thunder Part Ways With Matthew Sauk, Portland Thunder website, September 23, 2014
- ^ Thunder & Coach Hohensee Part Ways, Portland Thunder website, August 25, 2015
- ^ Thunder Announce Andy Olson as Head Coach, Portland Thunder website, September 11, 2015
- ^ a b "Portland Names Matthew Sauk Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ Eggers, Kerry (September 30, 2014). "Hohensee takes reins of Portland Thunder". PortlandTribune. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ Steve Brandon (August 24, 2015). "Thunder drop Mike Hohensee as coach". www.portlandtribune.com. Portland Tribune. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ Steve Brandon (September 11, 2015). "Portland Thunder hire Andy Olson as coach". www.portlandtribune.com. Portland Tribune. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ^ Thunder, CSNNW Ink Multiyear Partnership, PortlandThunder.com, March 11, 2014
- ^ CSN & Portland Thunder ink multi-year TV deal, CSNNW.com, March 11, 2014
- ^ Thunder, 750 AM Announce Thunder Radio Crew, PortlandThunder.com, March 12, 2014
External links
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